Refrigerator cabinet



1950 J. L. FLETCHER REFRIGERATOR CABINET Filed June 21, 1 946 FIG.2

FIG.|

INVENT(I)R. x M m vide a patented Dec. 26, 1950 REFRIGERATOR. CABINET James Loren Fletcher, Fayetteville, N. Y., as-

signorto. Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y., a. corporation of Delaware Application June 21, 1946, Serial No. 678,324

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates. to. refrigeration cabinets and more particularly to refrigeration cabinets such as home or farm freezers including a center stile against which doors of the cabinet seal and which include means for preventing: condensation at: the exposed. surface. of the center stile.

A serious problem. in the manufacture of refrigeration, cabinets resides: in the fact that the center stile. against which the doors seal collects. condensate or shows signs of sweating when the structure is in use. The problem becomes: greater if the structure is employed as. a farm. or home freezer, due to the low interior temperature maintained in. the cabinet. Many solutions have been presented for the problem of eliminating collection of condensate upon the exposed surface. of the center stile. The structures proposed. heretofore have been expensive, ineflicient and unsatisfactory.

The. chief object of this inventionis to pro refrigeration cabinet which includes means for raising the temperature of the exposed exterior surface of the center stile to a point eil iective for substantially preventing the collection of condensate or sweating at. such surface.

Anobject of the invention to provide a refrigeration cabinet which includes means for warning an observer of the failure of the refrigeration equipment, such means; also serving to prevent the collection of condensate at the exposed. surface of the center stile.

A further object is to provide a. refrigeration cabinet including a warning device adapted to generate heat, the generated heat Warming surrounding surfaces, and to a lesser extent ambient air, the heat so generated being directed along the exposed surface of the center stile to prevent condensate collecting thereon.

I A still further object is to provide a refrigeration cabinet embodying means for maintaining the exterior exposed surface of the center stile in a dry, warm condition without impairing to any extent the temperature of the cabinet interior, said means also serving to warn an ob.- server of failure of the refrigeration equipment or other conditions which might interfere with proper operation of the cabinet.

A still further object is to provide a refrigeration cabinet including means for generating heat to warm the center stile by conduction through the metal surface and to a lesser extent by directing warmed air along the exposed surface of the stile, the heat generating means serving to maintain the exterior exposed surface, of the center stile in a dry, warm condition without affecting to. any substantial, extent the temperature of the storage compartment and also serving as a warning device to signal to an observer improper operation of the refrigeration equipment and/or a rise in temperature in the storage compartment. above a predetermined: point. Other objects of my invention will be readily perceived from the following description.

This invention relates. to a refrigeration cabinet which comprises. in combination a frame including a stile, a portion of the. surface of the stile be.- ing exposed to. ambient air, said frame forming a storage compartment, means: for maintaining said storage cabinet. ata desired temperature, a. warning device for signalling to an observer failure of said means, said device being disposed. acijacent the stile and being adapted to generate heat to warm the stile.

The attached drawing illustrates: a preferred embodiment of my invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the. refrigeration cabinet of my invention; and

Figure 2v is a. plan view of the cabinet shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the. drawing there is. shown a refrigeration cabinet. 2 including a storage come partment 3 and a. machine. compartment 4. Preferably, storage compartment 3 is disposed above machine compartment 5,. As custernary in cabinets of this type, the refrigeration equip ment 4, forexample, the compressor, condenser, driving mechanism, etc, is placed in the machine compartment, and a suitable heat exchanger or evaporator is placed in the storage compartment and connected to the. condenser by a suitable liquid line. These elements per se form no part of my invention and consequently are not shown in detail.

ihe cabinet 2; may include metal or wood longitudinal frame members 5 at. its corners and connecting elements 6 between the various corner members 5 to form the whole intoa unitary frame for the cabinet. An exterior wall l having suitable decorative surface conceals the frame. Interiorly of the frame there is providedan innor liner orwall 8 which iorrns storage compart ment 3. Insulation material 9 of any suitable type such as corlrboard, mineral or glass wool, fiberboard and the like, is disposed between inner wall 8 and exterior wall l and insulates storage compartment 3 on all sides. A stile or mullion in, preferably, forms a portion of the unitary frame and extends perpendicularly of the storagev compartment; if desired, of course, stile. It may be removable. Stile Ill divides the entrance to storage compartment 3 into a plurality of openings to p rmit access to the compartment for placement and removal of storcd foodstuffs, for. example. The openings in compartment 3 are closed by doors ll which are suspended from corner members 5 of the frame by hinges l2. Such doors extend outwardly beyond the vertical plane of wall 7. as shown in Figure 2. Gaskets. it are interposed b-"tween the doors 5! and the walls of cabinet 2 thus securely sealing storage compartment 3 and preventing penetration of ambient air into the storage compartment.

The opposed edges l4 and 14' of doors ll form in combination with the exposed surface of stile 9 a channel I5 which extends upward along the exposed surface of the stile.

Warning device [8 is disposed in channel 15. For the purposes of my invention it is essential that warning device It be in the form of a light or other suitable means adapted to generate heat to warm the stile. Light IE generates heat which serves to warm the exposed surface of stile l9 primarily by conduction through the metal surface; to a lesser extent, heat generated by light It warms ambient air, the warmed air rising in channel to assist in warming the exposed surface of the stile l0.

Warning device l6 may be disposed in a suitable socket mounted on or protruding through the wall of stile Iii and is connected by means of suitable wiring H to a control member such as a switch box [8 disposed in machine compartment Preferably, wiring ll extends under the breaker strips (not shown) surrounding the compartment openings to facilitate ready placement and removal. The purpose of the warning light is is to indicate improper operation of the refrigeration equipment. When the cabinet is functioning satisfactorily, the light is illuminated and indicates to an observer proper operation of the cabinet. Upon failure of current to the refrigeration equipment, for example, light it is extinguished thereby warning an observer that desired refrigeration temperature is not being maintained within the storage compartment 3.

Preferably, a suitable thermostatic control I9 is disposed in storage compartment 3 and is also connected to control member l8. Control [9 serves to indicate a rise in temperature in the storage compartment above a predetermined point; rise of temperature in the storage compartment 3 above a predetermined point actuates control member 18 to extinguish light l6 thereby warning an observer of failure of refrigeration.

In my invention, light 16 serves to prevent the collection of condensate on the exposed interior surface of stile [9. Since the light is illuminated under conditions of normal operation, heat is generated, thus warming the exposed surface of stile ill primarily by conduction although ambient air is also warmed to some extent, the warmed air rising in channel [5 and passing along the exposed surface of stile Hi to warm such surface.

The phrase failure of the refrigeration equipment is used herein to denote break-down or failure of operation of elements of the refrigeration system, failure in current supply, or other conditions permitting the temperature of the storage compartment to rise above a predetermined point.

It will be noted that I have provided a simple means for preventing collection of condensate on the exposed surface of the stile of a refrigeration cabinet, such means also serving to warn an observer of failure of refrigeration within the storage compartment of the cabinet. The means so provided are inexpensive in operation, requiring only a slight amount of power, two to six watts per hour, for example, to prevent substantial condensation on the exposed surface of the stile as well as to serve as a satisfactory signalling device. Such means may also warm ambient air and the warmed air may be directed upward along the exposed surface of the stile thereby aiding in warming the same and preventing the collection of condensate thereon. The means so provided are inexpensive, efficient and readily disposed in position in the refrigeration cabinet.

While I have described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood my invention is not limited thereto since it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator including a storage compartment, the combination of a metal stile having an exposed surface, a plurality of doors adjacent said stile closing openings in the storage compartment, exposed edges of said doors and the exposed surface of said stile forming a, vertically extending channel, refrigerating means for refrigerating the storage compartment to a desired temperature, a warning device placed on the lower portion of said stile for signalling to an observer failure of said refrigerating means, said device serving to generate heat during the operation of the refrigerating means to warm the exposed surface of said stile by conduction and to warm ambient air in the channel, at least some portion of the warmed air passing upward along the channel, thereby warming the exposed surface of the stile to an extent sufficient to prevent substantial collection of moisture thereon.

2. In a refrigerator, the combination of a stile, a portion of the surface of the stile being exposed to ambient air, a storage compartment, said storage compartment having a plurality of openings disposed on opposite sides of said stile, a machine compartment, refrigeration equipment disposed in said machine compartment to refrigerate the storage compartment to a desired temperature, a plurality of doors closing the openings in said storage compartment, the opposed edges of said doors in combination with the exposed surface of the stile forming a vertically extending channel, a Warning light disposed in said channel adjacent the lower portion of the stile to signal to an observer failure of the refrigeration equipment, said light generating heat to warm the exposed surface of the stile by conduction and to warm ambient air in the channel, the warmed air passing upward along the channel to aid in warming the exposed surface of the stile thereby warming the exposed surface of the stile to an extent suificient to prevent substantial collection of moisture thereon.

3. A refrigerator according to claim 2 in which a thermostatic control is disposed in the storage compartment, said control serving to extinguish the light when the temperature in the storage compartment rises above a predetermined point.

thereby warning an observer of the failure of the refrigeration equipment.

JAMES LOREN FLETCHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,886,953 Hoffman Nov. 8, 1932 1,952,282 Reeves Mar. 27, 1934 1,992,011 Knight Feb. 19, 1935 2,141,918 Knight Dec. 27, 1938 2,190,428 Johnson Feb. 13, 1940 2,441,080 Peglow May 4, 1948 2.443.342 Colvin June 15, 1948 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,535,278 December 26, 1950 JAMES LOREN FLETCHER It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 3, line 46, for the word interior read exterior;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office. Signed and sealed this 27th day of February, A. D. 1951.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Gammz'ssz'oner of Patents. 

